Question 1

How do I add a new dependency in Shards?

Accepted Answer

Edit the shard.yml file to include the dependency under 'dependencies' with its Git repository URL and version constraints, then run 'shards install' to fetch and lock it, as shown in the README example.

Question 2

Shards vs Bundler or npm: which should I use for Crystal?

Accepted Answer

Shards is the official tool for Crystal, similar to Bundler for Ruby or npm for Node.js, but tailored for Crystal's ecosystem; for Crystal projects, Shards is the necessary choice due to its integration.

Question 3

How to update all dependencies to their latest versions?

Accepted Answer

Run the 'shards update' command to fetch the latest versions based on constraints in shard.yml, updating the shard.lock file accordingly, as mentioned in the command-line interface.

Question 4

Can Shards handle private Git repositories for dependencies?

Accepted Answer

Yes, by specifying SSH URLs or using authentication tokens in the Git repository details in shard.yml, Shards can install dependencies from private repos, though setup may require additional configuration.

Question 5

What does the shard.lock file do and should I commit it?

Accepted Answer

The shard.lock file locks dependency versions to ensure reproducible installations; the README recommends committing both shard.yml and shard.lock to version control for consistent builds across environments.

Question 6

How to install Shards without Crystal bundled?

Accepted Answer

You can compile Shards from source using 'make' with requirements like libyaml, as detailed in the install section, but it's typically easier to use the version distributed with Crystal.

shards

What is shards?

Overview

Use Cases

Best For

Found a gem we're missing?

Not Ideal For

Pros & Cons

Pros

Cons

Frequently Asked Questions